The Pillar that Refused to Fall
by Mrotalkuman
Summary: With the Nationals won, the Seigaku regulars are celebrating... And betraying Ryoma. How joyful. Anyways, with only Tezuka and Eiji by his side (Ichinen Trio: Hey! We're still here!") he continues on, falling in love along the way. And showing the betrayer's mastermind who's boss. Looking Away Challenge, Pillar, Acrobat
1. Chapter 1: A Crack in the Pillar

**A/N:** Okay. I know this challenge is like old, but I think it's such a good way to start a story. Anyway, this is a fic using he "Looking Away" challenge written by... I can't remember. Someone tell me please.

Anyway, this fic is, well, you can tell by the title.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own PoT. If I did, Choutaro and Ryou would be the main characters, and Hyotei would be the National champs. Plus, it'd be a yaoi.

**Warnings: **Yaoi, OOC, bad grammar, bad story writing, bad dialogue.

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**_Chapter 1: A Crack in the Pillar_**

* * *

As he was thrown in the air, Ryoma, for the first time in his life, was genuinely laughing and smiling, caring not if anyone saw. He had assisted his team in taking the Nationals championship title, and he felt more pleasure than he ever had before.

As he was set down, Oishi looked at his with a worried expression. "Echizen-kun," he said, voice both happy and worried. "Why don't you go home for a few days. That nasty fall you had and the resulting amnesia might have been worse than we realized. It would be good if you rested." He paused, taking this moment to smile. "We can just postpone the party to Saturday. Is that fine with you?"

"Hoi hoi!" Eiji cut in, a bright smile vivid on his face. "Oishi"s right! We'll wait for you, O'chibi-chan!"

Echizen felt great to know that his teammates cared about his as much as they did. A smile on his face, Echizen said, "Okay, Oishi-senpai. Eiji-senpai."

After saying his goodbyes, Echizen turned to take his leave. After exiting the stadium, Echizen realized that he didn't know when the party was. Deeming turning around to ask his senpai less troublesome than to call them later on, he turned around.

After a moment, when he was close enough to his senpai to hear them but not see them, he heard a voice that he believed belonged to Momoshiro ask, with a cautious voice, "Do you think he's gone."

Puzzled, Echizen stopped his movements, deciding to keep himself hidden for the time being. Why does it matter why I'm here or not, he internally contemplated.

Soon after, he heard Inui begin to list the statistics. "There is a 98% chance he already left the stadium, 1% chance he got held up by someone, but is still far enough away to be unable to hear us, 0.88% chance that he's inside the stadium drinking Ponta, but far enough away not to hear us, and 0.12% chance that he returned here and is listening to us now."

Echizen internally sighed. How would he have data on that? Interested in why they wouldn't want him here, he stood and listened.

"Finally, we're National champions," he heard Oishi sigh, voice sounding relieved. "All thanks to that brat." Ryoma, puzzled, thought to himself on why Oishi would call him a brat. Oishi never would call him a brat. Momoshiro and Kaidoh, maybe, but not Oishi.

"Finally, I can stop pretending to be that bastard's friend," Momoshiro spat.

In response, he heard Kaidon reply, "Well, I think we're all relieved that we can finally ditch the brat."

Speechless, Ryoma stood where he was with his eyes wide in awe. Pretending, he thought, growing both shocked and angry.

"Te~zu~ka," he heard a purr, that could only belong to the team's honey-haired tensai, Fuji. "Can we please kick that brat off the team?"

"Um, exactly what the hell are you guys talking about?" Tezuka asked, uncharacteristically cursing. "Why would I kick him off the team. And what are you guys talking about?"

"Tezuka," he heard Fuji sighed, and he imagined that the aforementioned tensai was shaking his head. "Did you actually like that brat? You didn't actually think we cared about that brat, right?"

"We hate him!" Momoshiro threw out, causing Ryoma to clench his fists in anger.

His anger taking control of him, Ryoma emerged from where he was hiding. Being suddenly aware of his presence, the regulars - minus Fuji, who just smirked when he saw Ryoma - looked at him with wide eyes. "Well," he spat, bitterness vivid in his voice. "I'm sorry to interrupt."

Eiji, who Ryoma hadn't heard say a word up until that point, weakly murmured, "O'chibi..."

Eiji looked nothing like the bubbly, happy-go-lucky person that Ryoma knew. His face was pale, his eyes were droopy and sad, his demeanor was shy and embarrassed, and he looked ready to cry. Nevertheless, Ryoma was quick to snap at him. "Oh what, you want to declare your hatred for me too?" he asked, his voice raised in anger.

"I... I..." Eiji tried, but he couldn't make words to form on his tongue. Turning towards the rest of the regulars, Ryoma lashed.

"Well, if you all hate me so much, why don't you tell me what you hate about me so much. I'd love to know," he spat, putting heavy emphasis on the word "love".

Fuji was the first to speak. "You're a brat. You're rude. You're cocky. You're arrogant. You think your the best person in the world. You disrespect your senpai."

The rest of the regulars, sans Fuji and Tezuka, nodded their head in agreement. Ryoma, an angry smile on his face, said nothing.

"Well," finally, after a moment, Ryoma said, voice livid. "Thank you. I think I'll leave now. I'm obviously not wanted here."

Turning around, Ryoma walked off. As the tears that had been accumulating began to overflow, Eiji ran after the retreating figure of his O'chibi, leaving the rest of the regulars behind.

Angry, Tezuka, with a stern voice, shouted.

"1,000 laps around the stadium!"

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**A/N:** Okay. Yeah I went there. I made Tezuka not know of the plan, and Eiji having known, but feeling extremely guilty. I pretty sure I'm stepping into unknown territory. Anyway, please review. It makes me want to update more. Plus, I'll get you you're own Eiji if you do. ^ _ ^


	2. Chapter 2: The Neko's Ice-cream Man

**A/N:** Well, that took long enough. Jeez. Plus, this is like the third attempt at this chapter, but I'm not too sure about how I'm feeling about it. I may rewrite it.  
Anyways, in this chapter, I'm introducing Eiji's lover. And bo, it's no one from Seigaku. They aren't on the best of terms. Please don't kill me for the pairing. It was either this or the Teddy Bear Pair, and that would have broken my OTP, so no.

**Warnings: Shoddy writing, OOC, Yaoi, Shounen Ai, Ryoma's mouth. **

Thank you all the people who reviewed/followed/favorited. It really pumps me up.

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Neko's Ice-cream Man**

* * *

In all of Ryoma's life, he had never been that angry.

In all of Eiji's life, he had never felt that guilty.

And in both of their lives,they had never met someone as stubborn as eachother.

Ryoma continued walking, his anger the only thing that fueled him at that point. He wanted to be alone, to wallow in his anger-filled sorrow, but Eiji was making that very dificult to do that. Why he was still here was unknown to him.

Eiji, however, wanted more than anything to apologize to Ryoma. To show how sorry he was. And even if Ryoma beat him to a pulp with a racket, if it meant that Ryoma would forgive him, than he'd easily accept.

Figuring that Eiji wouldn't leave on his own, Ryoma stopped and turned around. "Go away." he said in a livid, but calm, voice. "Why are you even here? What? You unhappy because you didn't get to announce your utter hatred to my guts? Well sorry to burst your bubble, but I get it. I don't want to talk to fake friends."

Eiji's shoulders began to sag, and he starteds sobbing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Eiji began to repeat like a mantra. He truly felt worthless. He didn't deserve to have Ryoma as a friend. He dealt with all of his annoying quirks, and what did he do in return? Hate him? Want him to quit the team? Want him to jump off a cliff?

Ryoma's expression softened and he suddenly felt bad. He should of figured; Eiji wasn't cruel enough to do something like that, no matter how much he disliked someone.

"Eiji-senpai," Ryoma paused, plannning out his words very carefully. A single slip-up could lead to a moreorless breakdown by Eiji. "I'm sorry. I forgive you, so don't cry."

Eiji froze, processing what Ryoma said. _He forgave me? How? I was terrible to him and he forgives me? I don't know how?_

Eiji ran forward and hugged Ryoma, burying the smaller boy's head in his chest. He cried and cried, unable to hold back his tears at this point. And Ryoma didn't object. He felt his anger dissolve as he was held in Eiji's arms.

And as his anger dissolved, he was left with a bitter sadness. He was basically alone, save Tezuka and Eiji. All of his so-called friends had left him. And he suddenly felt so alone. He had never been a social person, and the Seigaku regulars were basically his first friends. He had been so used to having lots of people around him, he didn't want to go back to being alone.

As Eiji's tears began to stop, he noticed that he wasn't the only person crying. His chest felt damp; damp with his kouhai's tears. Ryoma was crying; bawling actually. He felt like each sob was a knife being driven into his heart. It hurt so much being the cause of those tears.

Sucking up his own guilt, Eiji removed Ryoma from his chest and straighten his body, wiping his tears. "O'chibi. Let's blow this depressing stuff. Do you want to get ice cream?" Eiji felt his plan would work. Ice cream is the greatest happy dessert.

Ryoma looked up, his eyes bloodshot from crying. "Okay." he said, voice hoarse.

And with that, the two looked for an ice cream shop. It took about ten minutes, but they found it nonetheless. Though the search went by silently.

The ice cream shop was quaint but aged. It had a few tables and a counter with old, worn down stools. On the other side of the counter, there was a glass case that showcased the different ice cream flavors. In the corners were fake plants.

The two walked in and sat at the counter. Ryoma decided that he would eat as much ice cream as he could eat. He may have forgiven his senpai, but that didn't mean that his Eiji was off the hook. Eiji still had to redeem himself, and this was the perfect oppurtunity.

The two sat, a few jokes being thrown by Eiji that were shot down by Ryoma, regardless that he actually found some of them funny. it took about five minutes for them to notice that there was no one behind the counter.

"Hello?" Eiji asked with his usual energy, albeit not at it's full strength. "Is anyone there nya?"

"Yeah yeah I'm coming!" they heard a not-to familiar voice yell. And after the voice was Gakuto Mukahi, Hyotei's asshole acrobat. As he saw who his customers were, his eyes grew wide. "Oh, it's you."

"Well, it's you two." Eiji said in playful sarcasm. He rolled his eyes and added "Two ice creams please."

"Well, I figured that. What flavors?" Gakuto enthusiastically asked. Honestly, he was hoping for a nice, slow day with little to no customers. And he definately didn't want to have to deal with his most hated person.

Eiji pondered for a bit, the tapping of Gakuto's pen on his notepad rushing him. "Double-scoop. Chocolate." He turned to Ryoma, who looked very ready to order.

" Four scoops: Chocolate, Vanilla, Cookies & Cream, and Fudge Almond Mocha. Plus as many toppings as you can." He stated nonchalantly, as if he didn't just order an extremely expensive ice cream.

Eiji looked at his O'chibi in shock, internally sobbing over his soon to be empty wallet. Gakuto eyed Ryoma dubiously, but said nothing. He turned to the ice creams, and began to start preparing orders.

"O'chibi, your so cruel." Eiji said, his metaphorical cat tail between his legs.

Ryoma looked at his senpai with an innocent expression. "I am? I'm not the one who pretended to be someone's friend, no matter how short that time was, and then proceeded to not tell that someone until after Nationals."

Gakuto looked up from his work, suddenly interested in the two sitting in front of him. "What are you talking about? Tell me the details." And with that, he handed the two their ice cream, as well as pulled up a stool on his side of the counter and began eating his own ice cream.

Eiji looked a little downcast, but still kept his head high. "Well..."

And with that, he had began to regurgitate all the information about the plan and the day before. Even Ryoma was a little shocked on how long the façade that the regulars had put up had been going on. the third day he was there. And it was Fuji who had thought of the plan. Shocker.

"Damn." Gakuto said in awe of what he heard. "Your an asshole." He added, his ice cream bowl empty. "Of course, your still cooler than the rest of the Seigaku regulars. I hate you a lot less." With those words, Gakuto looked like he accomplished something.

Ryoma, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up. "Senpai." he said while pulling Eiji's shirt. "Can we go now?"

"Okay O'chibi." He turned to the other acrobat. " Okay then, we'll be going. "

"Fine. 2200 yen." Gakuto said, his bored tone returned.

Eiji pouted as he handed over all of the bills in the wallet. "G-goodbye."

* * *

"Senpai? Can you stay the night?"


	3. Chapter 3: The Pillar's Train of Tears

**A/n:**Hiyah people. Look. It's a quick update. A shorter one, if I might add, but an update nonetheless. I suddenly felt pumped to write another chapter. I wonder why...*Looks at reviews*

Jeez, you guys make me feel special. And that makes me want to work harder. And I will try to be a bit more confident.

Anyways, this chapter makes me feel bad. I make Ryoma super sad. And Eiji super senpai-ish. I will introduce pillar pair...in chapter 7. Yeah... Right...

**Warnings:** OOC, Ryoma's mouth, yaoi, shounen-ai.

Thank you:

**GrimmIchiUlqui21**

**Tearful Shadows**

**animelover4ever69:**

**YunaKuran-Hibari**

**QueenOfTheShadows297**

**Lady Morganas Heir**

**valenme96**

**Tango Dancer**

**estepha98**

**koyuninjagirl**

**Ying Vampire**

Anyways, lets get on with the plot.

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**Chapter 3: The Pilar's Train of Tears**

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The train was filled with many different people going many different places for many different reasons. The man in the new suit was just heading back from his new job interview, feeling very confident that he got the job. The two high school girls talking on looking at pictures of their phone was heading to their friend's house to surprise her, for she had moved away. A elementary school student curled up in his older sister's lap.

And then there was the two middle school boys who sat in a melancholy silence. Both sat, trying to say what was on there mind, but neither finding the correct words. Finally, one just gives up and says what he's thinking in a very blunt matter.

" I'm sorry for being an asshole earlier."

"Heh?" Eiji asked in his daze; he hadn't expected Ryoma to apologize. In fact, he felt that he should be the one that apologized.

"I said that I apologize for being an asshole senpai." Ryoma said, almost insisting that he be forgiven.

Eiji, however, did not feel that he should have to ask for forgiveness. People act angrily when they are mad, he thought.

"Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong." Eiji said in a sad voice, and sighed when he continued. "I should apologize for ever hurting you like that. I'm sorry."

Ryoma's voice rose as his mood got worse. "No. I already forgave you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Eiji almost sounded like a whiny child; he was, basically. "No! You have no reason to apologize. Only I do!"

"I have to apologize!" Ryoma demanded.

"No you don't!" Eiji yelled in return. He would of continued, but the stares they were getting from the other passengers on the train mites him.

Eiji calmed himself down a little before speaking. "Please don't apologize. I understand why your mad. You're so confused with all of your emotions that your trying to hide it with anger."

Ryoma was silent, and Eiji almost thought he was going to cry again, but all he got was a hoarse question.

"Why?"

Eiji, although he had a guess at what he meant, he still asked "Why what?"

Ryoma's voice was growing hoarser by the word, and Eiji could detect a few muffled sobs he tried to hide. "Why did you do that? Why did you take part of the plan."

It hurt Eiji immensely to hear his kouhai his distressed, and it reminded him of one thing. Ryoma is still a kid; a first year. A cocky, arrogant, bratty, disrespectful kid, but a kid nonetheless.

"When I first met you, you were cocky, bratty, and thought you were better than everyone with no respect for your elders. You would be rude to all of us; even when I really tried to be nice, you'd just brush me off. It hurt, then made me mad. I partook in the plan because I felt hat you needed a lesson."

His voice was emotionless, cold. Merciless, but also pained. He had to use all of his willpower to keep himself from bursting into tears. How Tezuka did it was unknown to him.

"But," he continued. "As I got to know you, you are actually a great guy. You may seem cold and unapproachable, your sweet on the inside. And your such fun. As soon as I realized that, I sudden felt my guilt building up, day by day."

"And know that I think about it, I'm happy that I didn't tell Tezuka. If I had told him, he might have actually thought that the idea was okay."

"Do you understand now?" Eiji finished with the question. He looked at Ryoma, who's eyes were covered by his bangs. A simple nod answered.

"Now, let me ask a question." Eiji stated, not bothering to wait for an answer. "Why are you so adamant on apologizing?"

Ryoma scowled and looked away, but he knew his senpai would not let him not answer. "I was scared."

"Scared? Why?" Eiji said in shock. The thought of his kouhai being scared was a scary thought, but it didn't fit with the situation. Or at least, that's what Eiji thought."

Ryoma couldn't stop his tears from spilling over at this point. "I was scared of losing you. I lost almost all of my friends today. I'm scared too lose you, my only one."

Eiji was flabbergasted, to say he least. "O'chibi. I will never leave you. Do you understand?" Eiji's voice was completely serious. He meant business.

Ryoma nodded. "Good." Eiji sighed in relief. He would've continued, but the doors of the train opened, signaling that they arrived at their stop.

And Ryoma walked out without a word, with Eiji following right behind.


	4. Chapter 4: The Pillar's Day After

**A/N:** Ohayo! Did you forget about me?(Not surprising) Sorry I'm so late. I went on vacation(Hawaii!) and then I started school. Anyway, you don't care about that, so here's the story.

P.S.: I had this chapter done, but then it deleted itself. Sadface.

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**Chapter 4:** The Pillar's Day After

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Ryoma woke up early in the morning, sun barely beginning to rise. His neck felt damp with Eiji's breath, and his whole body was spooned by Eiji.

He, on most occasions, would not let this happen. But he felt that he deserved it; he felt warm and comfortable, loved. And if Eiji mentioned it to anyone, he would surely murder the cat.

Ryoma closed his eyes, wanting to enjoy this comfort more and fall asleep. It took about five minutes for him to figure that he wouldn't be falling asleep anytime soon. Groaning, he pulled himself up, shedding Eiji, who basically was glomping him to death.

He stood up, rubbing the grogginess out of his eyes. He looked at his sleeping senpai, deep in thought.

He didn't know how such a warm, fluffy person could do something as cruel as using someone to win. And even if he actually did think of him as a friend, it still hurt.

Ryoma shook his head, as is to shake the thoughts out of his head. He figured that if Eiji was still with him now, after his temper tantrum, then Eiji was serious about being his friend.

Ryoma brought his hand to Eiji's shoulder and began to shake him violently.

Eiji groaned, his body rolling over. His eyes popped open, being abruptly awoken. He sat up, scratching his head.

"O'chibi, I'm tired. Let me sleep." Eiji groaned, far too groggy to have a complete thought process. He wanted to go back to sleep. His dream of talking unicorns that can turn trees to cotton candy. It was very enjoyable; it was in his mind at least.

Ryoma sighed. "Senpai. We have morning practice. So get up." he gave another shove at Eiji, which effectively pushed him down.

"Hey!" Eiji yelled, though it wasn't too menacing - or loud, for that matter - because he was still half asleep. Eiji was having a very enjoyable dream, and he did not appreciate having to part with it. Nevertheless, he got up and headed to the bathroom and began to brush his teeth, making sure to make his teeth sparkle.

Ryoma followed behind, not a word speaking between the two. The two continued to brush their teeth, almost making it a competition to who could go the longest without spitting. The water continued to pour in the sink(Takeshi Konomi: Water wasters!) .

In the end, Eiji won, him being a professional toothbrusher. He looked down at his kouhai, who's face was soiled with toothpaste.

He brought his finger to Ryoma's face and whipped it off. "Mada Mada Dane, O'chibi-chan." He said with a dazzling smile, borderline smirk.

Ryoma pouted, though he tried to hide it. "That's my line, Eiji-senpai." He looked in the mirror to make sure he had no more toothpaste on his face, and sighed in relief when he found that there wasn't.

Eiji smiled at his kouhai. He was happy that Ryoma was acting more normal, though, in his opinion, more cute. And that means he was happier. His smile faltered for a minute, guilt creeping back in his mind, but he shook his head to ignore it.

Ryoma's smile faltered, and his voice suddenly became somber. "Senpai, am I your friend?"

And he really wanted to know. He felt bad for doubting his senpai, but he didn't think that he'd be able to take anymore heartbreak. So he'd save himself the hurt by asking now.

"O'chibi," Eiji said with a serious expression that contrasted his upbeat face. "I've told you before, and I'll tell you again. I am your friend. I am not going anywhere." He paused. "Nya."

Ryoma felt relieved, and sweat the big drop(sweatdrop). His senpai was the same as ever, and he hoped that they could have a decent day.

The two left the bathroom without a word, though the atmosphere was upbeat. The two got dressed, Eiji cracking some height jokes along the way. Afterwords, the two headed downstairs.

Nanako was frying fish when the two came down the stairs. The sight of her younger cousin awake and ready this early was a shock, but she kept her composed face.

She smiled. "Good morning Ryoma. Eiji-kun. You two can sit down and I'll serve you in a minute.

The Eiji sat, and Ryoma followed after pouring himself a glass of milk. Eiji looked at the milk dubiously before his face morphed to a face of recognition as he recognized why Ryoma was drinking two glasses of milk.

Nanako appeared a moment later with two plates. "Here you two go. Enjoy." She sat down the plates and returned to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

"Itadakimasu!"

The two went on with eating away; the food went away fast because of Nanako's exceptional cooking. It was five minutes later when the two were done; plates were crumbles and cups had not a drop.

The stood up, bid their farewells to Nanako (And Karupin!), and picked up their schoolbags as well as their tennis bags, and were out the door.

It was still dark outside; the sun had barely risen. Practice didn't start for another than twenty-five minutes or so, and by the time they'd arrive they'd have another ten minutes until practice started.

The walk was filled with dirty jokes by Eiji, and snide comments by Ryoma on how they weren't funny, even though he was laughing. They arrived just as predicted and walked in the club room.

The club room was empty, with only Tezuka there. "Good morning Buchou." Ryoma said nonchalantly, but the shock in his voice was clearly eminent. It seemed that Tezuka was just as shocked, for his stoic mask was off, showing him wide-eyed and his mouth agape.

"Echizen? Your on time?" He asked, disbelief heavy in his voice. He was in awe. Echizen Ryoma, the prodigy who was never on time, was early. And after a day like yesterday, no less. He quickly regained his composure, however.

He cleared his throat. "Good morning Echizen." He eyed the first year, looking for signs of him being sad, but he seemed fine.

The three got changed in awkward silence, Eiji leaving first. Echizen finishing next.

"Buchou?" Echizen asked in a serious tone. Tezuka looked over and hummed in approval, acknowledging Echizen's statement. "Am I your friend?"

Tezuka was a bit shocked at the question, and he found a hard time conjuring up an answer. He had felt that all of his regulars were his friends, regardless of how little he seemed to care of their personal live. Because he did. From afar.

But he began to see his regulars in a new light. Eiji more serious. The rest disappointing him more than he had ever been before. And Ryoma, he ha always had an odd feeling in his stomach, as if he was nervous, though he didn't know why. And no matter how cocky, disrespectful, and lazy Ryoma was, he was undeniably his friend.

"Of course," Tezuka said in a softer expression. "I would only let one of my friends be our team's pillar of support."

Ryoma looked happy, and was about to reply when the club room door swing open.

"Saa, what's going on here?"

**A/N:**So how was it? I'd like to know. i'm like Marui. Sugar = Good Tennis/Reviews = Chapters


	5. Chapter 5: The Neko's Two Tears

**A/N:** Hello. I am a male. I enjoy cheeesecake and yaoi. I love cute things, and I love cuddling with females.

And that's your Mrotalkuman weirdness for the day.

Anyways, I'm happy. This is my longest chapter. It's Eiji-focused, but there's some Ryoma in it. And Oishi. And sadly, Fuji..

Anyway, on with the plot.

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Neko's Two Tears**

* * *

Ryoma had no idea how he found the brown-haired, blue-eyed, sadistic, nosy tensai of his a friend. He butted into things that wasn't his business, obtained pleasure from other's stress and pain, and was just a level 100 bastard. And he had a hunch that it was him that had thought up of the little scheme; the rest of the team wasn't conniving enough to have.

So when Fuji walked in on their tender moment, his mood suddenly plummeted to the depths of the earth, went straight through the bottom, found another planet's depths to plummet to. Ryoma scoffed at how much he changed in a day; he never use to are for any tender moments with his friends, but now that he has basically none, he suddenly cherished them. And Fuji was ruining one of those cherish-able moments.

"Nothing, senpai," he said in faux respect of his senpai, though his eyes easily said "None of your business, bastard!".

Fuji seemed to get the message, but his face stayed serene; it got calmer actually, with the smile looking even more angelic on the demon's face. "Oh really? All I heard was you being insecure about not knowing if Tezuka is still your friend or not." Fuji giggled as he glanced towards Tezuka. "Of course, you should know that Tezuka is just staying friends with you out of pity; he feels sorry for you because you have no friends at all."

Ryoma felt as though Fuji just lit a fuse to a stuck of dynamite. He wanted to tackle the bastard to the floor and make a crater in his face, yell, bad mouth him, then run off and cry at the same time. It was an odd feeling to him, to say the least, to have someone who could make him feel like that so easily.

Ryoma quickly remembered what Tezuka said, how sincere his brutally honest eyes were, how his cold mask melted away for a moment, just for him, how Eiji cried for him out of agonizing guilt, and just how much of what Fuji was saying was complete bullcrap.

Ryoma smirked. "Whatever you say senpai." And walked out of he locker room, leaving Fuji and Tezuka, who had watched the brief, but intense, conversation between the two, finding no places to interject with Ryoma beating him to it.

Fuji just smiled his usual angelic smile, chuckling coldly. "I really hate that brat." He said under his breath, careful not to let Tezuka hear. Realizing the two were alone, Fuji turned towards Tezuka and put his hands in the taller male a shoulder.

"Te~Zu~Ka," Fuji said in a sickeningly sweet manner, effectively annoying Tezuka. "You don't have to pity him. He'll be fine." He paused, reanalyzing what he said. "Or maybe he won't. Who actually cares. Anyways, you can stop now."

Tezuka knew Fuji was a... peculiar person, to say the least, and the tensai's sadistic tendencies were just as weird, but he had never thought that his teammate was this cruel. With a stern, livid voice, he snapped.

"First off, take your hands off of me." He grabbed Fuji's hand harshly and threw it off of his shoulder, much to the discontent of the tensai, though he was silent. "Secondly, I'm not pitying anyone. Ryoma is a fine person who I have no problems with. And third, the only person I'm putting up with is you, so I'd recommend that your out of this locker room in two minutes or else I'll give you laps until you cripple." With his final words, he marched out of the room, leaving a silent room, awkward atmosphere, and a tensai.

"Saa, this is going to be interesting. But Mitsu is mine, not some brat's."

* * *

The morning practice at Seigaku after Nationals would go down in history as the most awkward practice ever. The practice could never be considered normal. Unless you once went to Shitenhouji.

Ryoma wasn't acting mad, or sad, or anything. He played passionately against Momoshiro, pulling out the Deep Impulses right at Momoshiro's face and Cyclone Smashes against Momoshiro's crotch. He wasn't mad, but it didn't mean he wasn't going to punish his senpai.

The other regulars were eying Ryoma and Eiji oddly. They attempted to eye Tezuka, but it led to a Rikkai-load of laps.

And finally the Golden Pair, who was basically last-place medal worthy. They were completely off, with Eiji completely refusing to even look at Oishi.

"Game and match, Arai-Hayashi pair. 6-4!" A second year who was refereeing the match cried out as the final point was scored. And although they won, the second-year pair was not happy.

Especially Arai.

"What the hell senpai? Play like you mean it!" Arai spat in his unneeded, but understandable rage.

Oishi looked annoyed, and he voiced his annoyance. "Eiji wasn't paying attention. Maybe you should remind him that we're playing doubles." he spat, still keeping a calm voice.

"I haven't forgotten. I just don't pair well with people like Oishi." said Eiji. His voice was not ice-cold, but there were tiny bits of cruelty interlaced.

Oishi said nothing, contemplating what Eiji said. He wasn't one to get mad easily, but Eiji was acting ridiculous.

Arai, being one to see the tension between the two, suddenly backed up. "You know what? Never mind."

Being the only two left alone, Oishi turned to Eiji. "Can I talk to you?" he asked. He looked directly at Eiji's eyes, looking for some sort of emotion. All he was met with was a cold anger.

"I can't. We're at practice. I expected the vice-captain to take practice seriously." he spat. His voice although still in a sweet tone, was accompanied with a bitter aftertaste.

Oishi took a moment to steady his breathing before speaking. "Eiji, I want to talk to you. It's important."

Eiji groaned; he was in no mood to talk to Oishi. He was mad at all the regulars, but Oishi especially. Sure, Eiji wasn't free of wrongdoings, but he had actually began to liking Ryoma and began to feel guilt.

"I'm sure that it could wait. Besides, I'm sure Tezuka-buchou wouldn't be okay with us slacking off." he said. His tone was basically emotionless.

Oishi was at his wit's end. Grabbing Eiji's wrist, he stomped off towards the club room. Before he got far, he turned to Tezuka, who was eying them.

"We'll be back in a while. We'll run laps to make it up."

Tezuka nodded in approval, letting the mother-hen know that it was okay. Oishi continued walking.

In the club room, Oishi basically threw Eiji against the wall.

"What the hell Oishi?" Eiji whined as he rubbed his arm, that was hurt from being thrown. His voice was full of so much annoyance that it was almost visible.

"I want to know why you're acting so rude." he asked. He knew, in the back of his mind, exactly why. He just wants to here Eiji say it.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe that you threw Ryoma away as soon as he won you Nationals. At least I thought of him as a friend." he replied. He was really annoyed with Oishi; first he uses Ryoma then expects Eiji to just run back to him?

"Oh, don't act like your innocent. In the beginning, you were all for using him. If I remember correctly, you hated him as much as we did." Oishi countered.

If Oishi was trying to hurt Eiji, he did so. Eiji's anger seemed to dissipate, leaving behind only his guilt.

"You think I don't know that." Eiji murmured, his head down. "I know, and I hate myself for it. He's just a little kid, and we took advantage of him. I don't deserve to be his friend."

Oishi was reminded, by the scene before him, just how sensitive Eiji was. Feeling his own guilt begin to creep up, he ducked his head down.

Eiji was right. No matter how annoying, cocky, bratty, rude, disrespectful, and a variety of other things, Ryoma was still a child. Sure, he was really rude in the beginning, but he grew into a great person.

He was knocked out of his thoughts by the sound of sobbing. Looking back at Eiji, he found his partner sobbing. Taking actions into his own hands, he walked up to Eiji, so there wasn't any room in between them, and wrapped his arms around his sobbing friend.

No matter how mad he was at Oishi, no matter how mean Oishi was, and no matter how many cruel things, Eiji would always find Oishi's arms the most comfortable place in the world. He felt Oishi's warmth washing away all sorrow and guilt that he felt.

"I know, and I feel bad too." Oishi said, trying to reassure Eiji that he wasn't the only one who feels guilty.

Eiji looked up from his nestled position. "You do?" he asked. His voice held disbelief, and he didn't bother trying to hide it.

Oishi smiled at his cat-like partner. "Yeah." He paused, finding the words dying on his tongue. "I'll try to get along with him."

Eiji gasped, pushing himself away from Oishi. He almost choked in shocked. Oishi, one of the people who used Ryoma was going to try to get along _and oh my gosh, plot point!_

"Really?" Eiji asked.

"I will." Oishi assured, but then frowned. "But remember, I'm only doing it for you."

* * *

The two returned to practice, gaining twenty laps for their absence. The two complied happily, however. Eiji felt a new wind behind his step, having Oishi try to get along for his O'chibi for **him**. And Oishi was elated that Eiji was talking to him again.

Oishi had tried to talk to Ryoma. The air was awkward between them nonetheless, but at least there was talking between them. It was more than the other regulars, who were glaring holes into Oishi like he was a traitor. Oishi looked on edge when Fuji glared at him, but continued nonetheless.

Practice ended soon after, with the regulars filing into the showers. Less than ten minutes later, Eiji and Oishi were filing out, with Ryoma soon following. They all headed to classes.

~Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip Time Skip~

Lunch was here, and Eiji decided to head to the roof. He invited Oishi, but he had Student Council Affairs, and Ryoma was eating lunch with the Ichinen trio. The roof was surprisingly deserted, much to Eiji's surprise.

"Eiji."

Eiji turned around at the sound of the all too familiar voice. Standing there was his best friend, Fuji. Actually, he really didn't know where Fuji stood. Was he his friend it not?

"Yeah?" Eiji replied, trying not to sound like he didn't want to talk to Fuji. He really didn't want to have to do anything with the sapphire-eyed tensai.

Fuji smiled a both demonic and angelic smile, looking very amused. "I just want you to choose."

Eiji gulped, not understanding what Fuji meant. Choose what? And knowing Fuji, he really didn't want to know.

Fuji sighed, seeing that the acrobat did not understand what he meant. "I see you don't understand. I'll explain. I want you to choose." The tensai opened his eyes, showing his sharp blue eyes. "Me or that brat?"

Eiji froze, not believing what he heard. "Huh? I'm sorry Fujiko. I don't think I heard you correctly."

Fuji frowned and shook his head. "Eiji, I know you heard me fine. Now answer the question: me, your best friend, or that bratty asshole?"

Eiji looked at his friend, his eyes begging Fuji to not ask him to choose. Fuji just looked back, his sapphires open and unwavering. Seeing no other option, Eiji replied.

"I'm not choosing." He stated in a strong voice, though his strength was wavering. He looked at Fuji straight in the eyes, as if he was challenging the tensai.

Big mistake.

"Oh no. That won't do." Fuji said in an almost whiny voice. "Answer."

Eiji looked like he had the life beat out of him. He turned to Fuji, as slow as he could, waiting to delay the inevitable.

"Please." He begged, so quiet that it almost unheard. "Don't make me chose. I don't think I can."

"You do treasure me as your best friend, right? Oh, an I believed that you cared about me. Me, the person that's stuck with you for years. " Fuji internally cackled at his use of the guilt card. Eiji was always weak to the guilt card.

Eiji was silent. His mind was blank. He couldn't believe that the person he was talking to was his best friend. He knew that Fuji could be a huge sadist at time, but he never thought he would go to this point.

"Well, are you going to answer?" Fuji persisted, growing annoyed over his friend's indecisiveness. At least, Eiji was indecisive in his opinion.

"No." Eiji replied with a grave to e of voice. "I'm sorry, I pick Ryoma. He isn't cruel like you. And, he's my new best friend."

And with that, he deserted the roof.

"Well, I really am starting to get mad..."

* * *

Abe once he was away, Eiji cried again.


	6. Chapter 6: To Pick Up the Fallen

A/N: Hello. I'm alive! Sorry about he the long wait, but I got super busy with school.

Anyways, just wondering, what's your guys' opinion of Tenimyu? If you don't know what that is, you poor thing.

* * *

**Chapter 6: To Pick Up the Fallen**

* * *

Gakuto was looking for Oshitari when he came upon the tennis club room, the door unlocked though practice had ended about an hour ago. Oshitari, being the only person other than Atobe, who had already went home, to have a key to the club room, so Gakuo decided that he must be in the club room.

Opening the door quietly, Gakuto stepped in, closing the door when he was inside. The sound of someone's voice rang out, and Gakuto immediately realized that it was Oshitari. He was positive; Oshitari was one voice that he could never mistake for another. Following the sound, Gakuto realized that there was two voices, and the other one he knew, though he couldn't put his finger on it.

Following the sounds, Gakuto found the epicenter of the sounds on the other sides of the locker. Not wanting to be seen, he peered around the locker.

Oshitari was there all right.

Oshitari lay on his back, moaning in pleasure as Shishido, who undoubtedly was the other voice, rode him. The sound of skin slapping skin resounded in Gakuto's ears, and the stench of sex burned Gakuto's nostrils.

Gakuto, the sight of his boyfriend having sex with another person - a good friend of his to boot - was horrifying. Enough to make him run from the scene as fast as he could.

He ran as fast and hard as he could, trying to get away from the club room as fast as he could. His lungs burned and his knees begged to stop, but he kept running. Gakuto had ran so long that when he stopped, he found himself in an unfamiliar park.

Winded, Gakuto fell to his knees, propping himself up with his hands. Now alone - the park was deserted, save a couple who were having a picnic a ways away - Gakuto let he tears that had accumulated in his eyes spill.

He hated crying, but Gakuto couldn't help but feel relieved after he started crying. The built up emotions just spilled out, his body shaking from his intense sobbing.

His sobbing was so intense that he didn't hear footsteps coming in his direction.

"Gakuto?" a voice from behind him asked. Turning around, Gakuto looked up with soggy eyes to see Eiji standing their with a concerned expression. "Are you okay?"

Gakuto grimaced. "No, I'm fine. I just like crying," he spat, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Of course I'm not."

Eiji, pretending that he didn't hear the sarcasm, followed up with another question. "If you don't mind me asking," he asked, "What's wrong?"

Gakuto stood up and whipped his eyes with the sleeve of his Hyoutei blazer, dampening the sleeve. He fixed himself, ironing out the wrinkles on his blazer before answering."

"None of your business," he stated coldly, turning around to walk away. A moment later, a hand reached out to grab his shoulder and turn him around.

He never thought of Eiji as a demanding person, but he determined look in his face made him think otherwise. His expression held no resemblance to the childish one of the usual Eiji, his mouth down turned into a frown and his eyes blank in emotion.

"It is my business," he said in a low voice, cold and emotionless. "You're crying, and I don't like it when my friends cry."

Gakuto stopped for a moment. "Since when were we friends?" Which was true; the two showed no interest in each other. In fact, they seemed to hate each other on most occasions.

Eiji expression softened; not by much, but softened nonetheless. "I don't remember saying that. We may be rivals, but that doesn't mean that we aren't friends."

Gakuto at first was uncomfortable, but deciding that he really needed someone to vent to. Agreeing, the two headed to a nearby noodle shop, Gakuto not wanting to talk about his problems in public.

The sat up at the bar, steamy bowls of noodles laying in front of them. At first, there was silence.

Breaking the silence, Gakuto spoke. "Oshitari cheated on me," he said,voice nonchalance heavy.

Eiji looked at him with wife eyes, not having expected that. Composing himself, he took a group of noodles in his mouth and swallowed before interjecting.

"How did you figure out?" He asked. Gakuto looked down with a pained expression before answering.

"I was looking for him and I found the club room open. Him being the only other person with a key other than Atobe." He paused, looking Eiji straight into the eyes. "He was there, with Shishido riding him."

Eiji put his hand on Gakuto's shoulder, trying to comfort the obviously sad acrobat. Gakuto looked annoyed at first, but after a fee rubs, he melted into it.

Trying to change his topic, Gakuto turned towards Eiji, shaking of the latter's hand in the process. "So, anything new with you and that Seigaku Brat?"

It was Eiji's turn to look melancholic. "Well, Fujiko-," he paused, realizing his mistake. "Fuji made me choose between Ryoma and him, and I chose Ryoma. After that, the rest of the regulars, sans Tezuka, Oishi, and Ryoma, began to ignore me."

"Damn," Gakuto said with a interested look. "You have it even worse than me. At least I know that no one would ignore me."

Eiji just put on a forced smile, a weak laugh accompanying it. Gakuto couldn't help but feel bad. He may have it bad, but Eiji had been through much more. Truthfully though, the Seigaku Brat had been through more than the two combined.

Maybe we should do something to take our minds off all of this depressing stuff, he thought, taking a big sip of the broth that had been sadly neglected. And that's when he suddenly got an idea.

"Hey, Eiji," he said, drawing attention of the aforementioned redhead. "Since we're all depressed, why don't we go to the amusement park this Sunday. You can even invite your Brat."

Eiji looked at him confused. When it hit him, he suddenly became really excited.

"Sure, nya!" He cheered, drawing the attention of the other customers.

"By the way," Eiji asked as he turned to Gakuto.

"Can you pay for O'chibi and me?"


End file.
